Bearing assembly



Aug. 16, 1932. v s, cow 1,872,251

BEARING AS SEMBLY Filed Oct. 20, 1930 INVENTOR Stuart H Cowz'n.

Patented Aug. 16, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlca STUART H, COWIN, OI PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR '10 WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC & MANUFACTURING COIPANY, A CORPORATION 01 PENNSYLVANIA ammo mm Application fled October 80, "80. Serial Io. 9.808.

My invention relates to roller-bearings and particularly to such bearings as are intended for use on railway rolling stock.

Prior'to my invention considerable difii-' culty has been experienced in ap lying roller hearings to the motors and other rotating parts of railway rolling stock. Amon the foremost of the diflicultles encountered ave been the shifting of bearings under the thrust incidental to operation on non-level sections of the trackage or when operating on curves and the leakage of lubricant generally under the same operating conditions. The substitution of grease for oil as a lubricant was an improvement but did not eliminate the trouble. In order to eflectively seal the lubricant it has beennecessary to encroach seriously on the very limited space available.

M invention relates to a bearing assembly in w ich the parts are so proportioned and arranged that the bearing races are-maintained in position and the lubricant eflectively sealed while using a greatly reducedspace thereby permitting a much more economical motor installation. g

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved bearing which shall ensure ease of assembly, positive means of retaining the bearing in axial position and improved means for retaining lubricant and excluding foreign matter. J

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing; in which,

Figure 1 is an elevation of a motor shaft having my improved bearings, shown in section as applied thereto, and

Fig. 2 is a similar view of a slight modification of my invention.

The apparatus disclosed in the drawing comprises .a shaft- 1 adapted to receive therotor of a railway driving motor. This shaft is preferably of stepped cross section to fac1l1tate assembly of'the rotor laminations on the shaft. At each end of the rotor, the shaft 1 is provided with a collar 2, in this case, an integral part of the shaft against whichmy bearing assembly will be seated.

vwith t e end bracket 6 of the motor.

The guards 12 are preferably detachably' connected to the bearing housing 5 by screws or bolts 20. Cooperating with the guards 12- are bi-part sealing rings. The outer portion 21 of the sealing ring nearest to the motor is provided with peripheral oil-throwing grooves 22. Also, the inner face of the ring is provided with an annular undercut roove 25. The remaining portion of the rin is provided with an annular channel 26 w ich, in conjunction with the under-cut groove of the first portion, provides an L-shape sealing groove. The guard member 12 is provided with an L-shape flange 30 extending into the L-shape groove to form a. labyrinth-like passage to retard the movement of lubricant fpast the sealing ring. The inner periphery o the L-shape flange is preferably provided with a plurality of annular grooves 31 to assist in retarding the motion of lubricant past they sealing rings. To further retard any lubricant motion, the sealing groove may be filled with a heavy grease. The guard on .the side of thebearing nearest the motor is preferably provided with an overhan ing oil-collecting flange 32 to provide an oil-collecting chamber which is preferably in communication with an. oil-collecting sump or else directly connected to the outside of the motor housing so that any lubricant that works past the sealing ring will be discharged outside of the motor housing in such manneroas to prevent such lubricant from reaching the windings of the motor.

The inner bearing race 35 is secured on the shaft between the sealing rings which prevent axial movement of the inner race in the same manner that the guards 12 prevent axial movement of the outer race. Any desired form of bearing element may be utilized but I prefer to employ a cylindrical roller bearing.

In assembling my hearing, I prefer to as' semble the inner sealing ring, the bearing race and the inner portion of the outer sealing ring with a light shrunk fit in order to retain them in place on the shaft against moderate thrusts, while the outer portion 21 of the outer bearing ring is preferably assembled with a heavy shrunk fit to prevent displacement of the bearing by any accidental end pressure.

The description so far has been directed to the assembly at the pinion end of the shaft. Howeven'the assembly at the dead end of the shaft differs but slightly. The inner race is of the thrust-carrying type to take any thrust that may result from any cause, such as tracks not being level or when operating on a curve. Also, the outer sealing ring is replaced by a threaded nut 40. This replacement of the sealing ring by the nut 40 makes it possible to eliminate the L-shape flange 30, and seal the hearing by a plate 41.

The modification shown in Fig. 2 differs from that of Fig. 1 mainly in that the shaft 1 is of uniform diameter instead of being stepped. The guard 12' on the pinion end of the shaft is extended to provide a lubricantreceiving channel 50 similar to that in the motor side of the bearing. Since the lubricant channel precludes access to the outside of the ring, a screw connection 571 is provided to permit attaching of a puller to remove the ring when it is desired to disconnect the bearing.

I do not desire to restrict myself to the specific embodiment of my invention herein shown and described, since it is evident that it may be changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A lubricant seal for a railway motor bearing comprising a shaft, a sealing ring secured to the shaft, said ring having an L- shape channel in the circumference thereof and oil throwers outside said groove, a bearing housing, a guard secured to the bearing housing, an L-shape sealing flange on said guard and received in the channel of said ring, an over-hanging lubricant-collecting device on said guard, said lubricant-collecting device cooperating with said oil throwers to collect any lubricant that may escape past said sealing flange.

2. A bearing seal for a dynamo-electric machine comprising a bearing housing adapted to directly receive the outerbearing race, a shaft extending through the housing, an inner sealing ring shrunk on said shaft, said sealing ring having an L-shape sealing groove, a sealing member secured to said comprising an lntegral collar on said shaft,

a bipart lubricant-sealing ring shrunk on said shaft against said collar, said sealing ring having an L-shape sealing groove therein and oil throwing grooves on the periphery thereof, an inner race shrunk on said shaft and against said sealing ring, a second bipart sealing ring having an L-shaoe sealing groove therein shrunk on said shaft, the outer portion having a heavy shrunk fit to hold said parts in place on said shaft, a bearing housing about said shaft, an outer race bearing directly on said housing, roller-bearing members between said inner and said outer races, detachable sealing members secured to said housing and having annular sealing flanges cooperating with said bipart rings to seal said bearing.

4. A bearing mounting comprising a bearing seat integral with a bearing bracket, said seat being adapted to receive the outer race of an anti-friction bearing, a guard detachably secured to said bracket at each end of said seat, said guards having means for pre'- venting axial motion of said outer race and securmg means extending through said housing for securing both of said guards in place, a shaft extending through the bearing, a compound sealing ring at each side of the bearing, said ring having a labyrinth groove therein, skirts on said guards extending toward the rings, annular flanges on -said skirts interfitting with said rings for producing labyrinth seals, said flange having a plurality of grooves adapted to receive a sealing STUART H. COWIN. 

